Vessel
by ExactChase
Summary: After the Battle Of Haven, Ruby unwillingly releases Lucifer from his cage, and becomes his vessel. Will her friends be able to save her from the Devil? Or will she have to save them from herself?
1. Lucifer Rising

**A/N: I took a lot of inspiration from the CW show Supernatural, but it's not really a crossover because the episode/season of the show this whole thing is based on, is actually based on the book of Revelations.**

After the Battle Of Haven, Team RWBY had decided to stick together and head to Atlas with Qrow, Oscar, and the remnants of Team JNPR. Sun was there too.

Ruby had hoped things would go back to the way they were, but with Blake and Yang's friendship strained and Pyrrha's death still lingering over JNPR, things were far from what Ruby wanted. Still, she tried her hardest to be a good leader in the face of it all. But she had two teams now. She had to help Jaune cope and help Blake and Yang work through what issues they had. Surprisingly enough, Weiss was the only one who wasn't an issue for Ruby. Whether or not Ruby would admit it, her friends had become issues for her. She had much bigger things to worry about, and here Yang was, acting as though Blake going home to her family was a crime.

They were all admittedly extremely stressed about everything Ruby was, they just took it out on one another. Ruby wasn't really that kind of person, however, and tried to turn her stress into a positive thing. Most of the time she felt she was doing more harm than help, however.

Weiss happily took up Ruby's role in trying to resolve Yang and Blake's issues, while Ren took her role in trying to help Jaune. They thought it more important that she learn to control her ability. Qrow had taken one of the many bedrooms on the airship and emptied it out completely. He soundproofed it as well, allowing her complete and total privacy to concentrate on activating her eyes. She'd spend hours each day, trying to activate it, but alas, she could not.

Ruby sighed as she stood, stepping out of the empty room. The trip to Atlas was a long one, she could try again later. As she stepped out, she saw Yang leaning against the wall, her lilac eyes carefully watching the girl.

"Can I help you?" Ruby tiredly asked with a nervous smile. Yang scowled.

"I need to talk to you." She quietly said. Ruby waited for Yang to continue, but the blonde motioned to the room the others occupied. "In private." Ruby sighed and started walking away.

"I'm not doing this right now, Yang." She tiredly said. "Blake didn't do anything wrong." The blonde quickly pushed off the wall and grabbed Ruby's shoulder.

"This isn't about that!" She growled. Ruby slowly turned and saw that the girl's eyes were red, but quickly faded back to lilac. "It's about something Dad told me." She calmly said. Ruby thought for a second before dragging her sister into her concentration room. She quickly shut and locked the door behind her.

"What did he say?" She worriedly asked.

"Before I left, he told me to watch after you. To protect you." Yang told her.

"Yeah?" Ruby questioned. "He's been telling you that ever since we were kids."

"Let me finish." Yang harshly said. "He said that I had to save you." Ruby carefully watched her sister's sad eyes. This wasn't something the man had said in passing. This was serious. "Because if I couldn't save you…" Yang paused for what felt like an eternity, carefully thinking about whether or not this was something she really needed to share with Ruby. "I'd have to kill you." Ruby's blood ran cold.

"K-kill me?" Ruby stuttered out, struggling to get her voice higher than a whisper.

"I asked Qrow about it," Yang continued. "And he agreed." Ruby felt like everyone was now conspiring against her. To kill her. "But only if Salem got you." Ruby felt a little better, but not by much. Why would they kill her and not save her from the evil woman? "He said that if Salem got ahold of you, she could turn you into something else."

"I don't understand." Ruby told her. Yang quietly chuckled.

"I'm not sure I do either." The blonde girl said. "But I just wanted to let you know. Just in case… we actually have to… y'know." She sighed after a long pause. "Qrow told me you'd be safe from them in here. He made sure of it." And with that, Yang left. Ruby, however, couldn't move. She was paralyzed with shock and fear. Salem wanted to turn her into a weapon. Or something much worse.

Ruby sat in there for a long time, thinking about what Yang had told her, until she heard a soft knock on the door. She slowly went over and opened it. It was Jaune. The lack of light in the hallway indicated to her that it was nighttime. For once, Ruby didn't hear Blake and Yang distantly arguing and she smiled.

"Hey, Jaune!" She quietly greeted.

"Hey." He said back. He quickly stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "What the hell is going on?!" He worriedly asked. Her smile faded.

"What do you mean?" She asked him, confused. He pulled up his sleeve to reveal a strange tattoo on it. It looked kinda like a star atop a sun.

"Qrow And Ozpin just made us all get these." He told her. "They said it's supposed to protect you." Ruby raised an eyebrow, carefully examining the sigil.

"Wait." She said. "My dad has this same tattoo. He told me it was an anti-possession sigil."

"A What?" He asked.

"He said it was meant to keep Geists and demons from taking possession of your body." She told him.

"Then why don't you have one?" He asked, rubbing the still red skin.

"I don't know." She told him, quickly bolting out of the room to find Qrow.

When she found her uncle, he was quietly talking to Oscar/Ozpin. They immediately stopped when they saw her.

"I think you owe me an explanation." Ruby huffed. Qrow quietly cursed under his breath.

"On what, exactly?" He asked her.

"On everything you've been telling the others!" She demanded. He sighed.

"I guess we shouldn't have tried to hide it from you…" He said. Tears began to form in her eyes.

"Hide what from me?" She quietly asked. "What's going on?"

"Ruby," Qrow began. "The relics are a plan B for Salem. You're Plan A. But before she can use you, she has to break seven seals. You broke the first seal by activating your 'ability'." Ruby looked down, had she really started this? "The second was broken when Beacon fell. The third when Oz inhabited farm boy over there." He motioned to Oscar. "The fourth when Leo screwed us over. The fifth when Haven was attacked. And the sixth when you saw Salem."

"What happens when she breaks all seven?" Ruby asked.

"A gate will open," Ozpin said through Oscar's lips.

"A gate?" Ruby asked.

"Yes," Ozpin said. "A gate. We have no idea what's on the other side, however. We just know that it will take possession of your body, with or without your permission. And so begins the apocalypse."

"What's the last seal?" She asked.

"We don't know." Qrow told her. "We just get told when one gets broken."

"And what happens if that seal gets broken and that thing takes possession of me?" Ruby skeptically asked. It was all pointing to her body having to be inhabited by another.

"We'll take care of it." Qrow quickly said. He couldn't really tell her what they were planning. If her body was possessed, then their plan would be known and it would fail.

"The solution is not ideal," Ozpin told her. "But it is a last resort." Ruby knew that wasn't true. The seventh seal would be broken and they would have no other choice. Try as they might, they could not change Ruby's fate. She sighed, and beaded back to her isolation chamber, where Jaune still stood. She put her hand on his shoulder.

"I hate to ask this of you," She sadly and quietly said. "But I need you to kill me."

"Ruby," Jaune said. "This past year, I have done a lot for you. But I won't do that." Tears began to form in his eyes.

"This isn't about me." She told him. "If you don't do this, people will die." She seemed equally upset. That must have been what triggered Jaune to just quickly do it; he quickly led her into the isolated room and stabbed her. He pressed his forehead to hers as he sobbed. "I'm sorry." She breathed out. He held her for what felt like an eternity, and then light filled the room. The boy looked over to the source; a pillar of light was shooting out of a pool of her blood. "No." Her eyes widened. "No." This was the seventh seal. She had made her best friend break the seventh seal and turn her into a monster.

" _A monster?"_ A voice asked her. " _No, I'm just here to liberate these cockroaches from their pitiful existences. You should call me your savior!"_

Jaune was suddenly thrown against the wall by an invisible force. And a slow, cocky chuckle filled the room.

"Poor, stupid girl." Ruby chuckled. "She really thought that would work." She grinned. "Thanks for releasing me, Vomit boy." The door suddenly flew open, and standing in the doorway was Qrow with a small, silver dagger. Behind him was the rest of the teenagers. Ruby laughed.

"Lucifer." Qrow said, accusingly.

"Qrow." Ruby said back. "I thought you would have sent my brother to take care of me."

"This is personal." He told her. "Gabriel would just get in the way."

"Big mistake." She simply said. They all suddenly found themselves pinned against the hallway walls by an invisible force, just like Jaune had been. Ruby stepped over to Qrow and plucked the blade from his hand. "Thanks for the blade, Branwen." She teasingly said. And just like that, she disappeared. They all fell from the walls.

"What the hell was that?!" Yang angrily asked Qrow.

"The beginning of the apocalypse." Ozpin said simply. "Either we stop her now; or it's the end of the world."

"How do we stop her?" Yang asked.

"We need to get to the rest of the relics." Qrow told her. "If we combine them, we can open Lucifer's cage and push her back in."

"What about Ruby?" Jaune asked.

"It's too late for her." Ozpin sadly said.

"Not exactly." Qrow interjected. "We could get Gabriel to bring her back."

"And risk Lucifer escaping in the process?" Oscar asked, his body still being controlled by Ozpin. "The girl is gone, Qrow."

"Can we stop for a moment and talk about the fact that Ruby was just possessed by the devil?" Blake asked. Weiss crossed her arms and nodded, looking at Qrow and Oscar. Yang completely ignored Blake.

"Who's this Gabriel guy?" The blonde girl asked.

"He's an archangel." Qrow told her. "He's the only one on our side right now."

"Are there any other angels?" Ren asked.

"Yeah," Qrow said. "But now that Lucifer has Ruby, they're not going to be of much help."

"Wait." Sun said. "Isn't Lucifer like the devil or something?" Qrow nodded. "And he and Ruby are the same person now?" Qrow nodded again. "Wow. That's… freaky."

"Understatement of the year." Jaune added.

"Why her?" Nora suddenly spoke up. She had been abnormally quiet throughout this entire ordeal.

"She was born to be Lucifer's vessel." Ozpin/Oscar said. "If he were to inhabit anyone else, they would slowly implode."

"I don't know what the angels are gonna to about Michael," Qrow said. "The vessel was destroyed. Disintegrated."

"They're working on it." A voice suddenly called. They turned and saw a middle aged man with sort of long, brown hair. He was wearing a green, military jacket with a dark colored dress shirt. "They call me Gabriel, by the way." He said, politely waving.

"What's the deal with your brother?" Yang asked, her tone bordering on angry.

"It's a phase?" He asked, sounding not sure of himself. "He was Dad's favorite, and then you guys came along and Luci was all, 'They're murderous and flawed!' And then he started a war."

"And your dad would be?" Weiss asked. Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

"Are you serious right now?" He asked. Weiss just looked at him, and he rolled his eyes. "God." He said, defeated.

"God's real?" Weiss asked. Gabriel just looked at her. "Stupid question." She quickly backpedaled. He suddenly pulled out a relic.

"Where are the others?" He asked.

"We have two of them already," Ozpin said. "But the last one is in Atlas still."

"Good." Gabriel said. "That'll be where we can find Michael and Luci. Throw them both in."

[Shift]

Rather than wait for the long trip to Atlas to conclude aboard the airship, Gabriel used his wings to take them all to Atlas in mere seconds. More likely than not, Lucifer probably already knew their plan and was most likely waiting for them at the relic. They had to be careful. Gabriel had warned them that once they had all the relics, they couldn't yet activate them. He wanted them to wait for Michael, who he knew wouldn't stop until Lucifer was dead. If they shoved them both in, the apocalypse could truly be averted.

When they got to Atlas, the first thing they noticed was that it was decimated. Bodies lay in the streets and smoke rose from the tallest buildings.

"Luci's been here." Gabriel dryly remarked. "Get the relic. I'll distract her." And with that, the angel disappeared, leaving them to run to Atlas Academy.

[Shift]

Lucifer was having a good day. He had been released from his cage and had easily taken control of his vessel. He guessed he was a She now, but he didn't really care. Ruby did, however. He could hear her screaming and yelling at him, begging him to let her go. He ignored her. She had tried to fight him, inside her head, of course, but he had easily overpowered her and locked her away.

Lucifer now sat atop the tallest building in all of Atlas, eagerly awaiting Michael's arrival. He had even gotten her into a nice, new outfit. It was a black dress shirt, with black pants and a black jacket. The pockets of the jacket were red, and Lucifer had even kept Ruby's cloak. Mainly because she had expressed extreme concern when he had taken it off. He knew there was no way he could earn her trust unless he compromised in a few places. Besides, he kinda liked the cloak.

"I think you're gonna like this," Lucifer told Ruby. "You're gonna get to see an old friend," he continued, despite her continuing protests. "And then it'll be over. We will be queen of everything. You and I." Lucifer—Who had just decided that, with a vessel like this one, he was definitely a she—sighed. "Listen, Ruby." She said. "I don't want this anymore than you do. But I have to do this, and you're the only one who can help me. You like helping people, don't you?"

"You're not people." Ruby finally said something that wasn't "Let me go!" Lucifer smiled.

"I guess you're right there," She said. "But think about it this way, Rubes. My Father made everything. Which means He made me who I am."

"I don't understand." Ruby quietly said.

"God wanted the devil." Lucifer finished. "And He forced you and I to fill that role." Ruby went silent and Lucifer smiled. She reached into her jacket and pulled out Ruby's rose brooch, admiring the craftsmanship on it. "Where did you get this?" She curiously asked. Lucifer could easily reach into Ruby's mind and find the answer, but this would be so much easier if she asked questions and made it seem like she cared. Lucifer wasn't exactly lying to her. She knew she couldn't earn Ruby's trust if she lied.

"It was my mom's." Ruby told Lucifer. Lucifer kindly smiled at the voice in her head.

"I could bring her back, you know." She said.

"You're the devil." Ruby angrily said. "You lie." Lucifer shook her head.

"I don't lie." She said. "I don't need to." This was mostly true, but not entirely. Lucifer didn't lie, she manipulated. People were easy to manipulate, not having the foresight to know what she was doing. Ruby was especially naive and easy to manipulate. "Especially if I want to gain your trust."

"Why do you care if I trust you?" Ruby asked.

"Because…" Lucifer paused. "Well, I don't like people. Not one bit. But you? You see the good in everyone and everything. I think that's adorable. You're like a puppy. We may not be equals, but I like you." And that was true. Lucifer was beginning to like Ruby. She seemed to be the only exception in a race full of lying, murderous, genocidal maniacs. Lucifer didn't respect her or her opinion, however. She was beneath the fallen angel. She and her kind were all beneath Lucifer. At least, that's what the angel thought. But Lucifer was a hypocrite. She called people genocidal, yet here she was, planning to wipe them all out. She didn't see the flaws in her plan, however.

Ruby was apart of a much bigger plan. She had been paired with Lucifer for a reason. But there was only one who knew that. And He was just going to let this play out. Because He knew how it ended.


	2. The Cage

"Luci!" Gabriel called, "I'm home!" It hadn't been hard to find his brother. Lucifer was, of course, sitting atop the tallest building. He saw her quickly stuff something into her jacket pocket as she slowly turned to him.

"Hey, Brother." She dryly said. "Come to join me, I hope?" She smiled and held her arms out, as if expecting a hug.

"Lucifer," Gabriel said. "You're my… sister?" Lucifer nodded.

"That's what I've been going with." She said.

"You're my sister and I love you. But you are one great big bag of dicks."

"What did you just say to me?" Lucifer growled. Her playful demeanor was gone now. She didn't like being insulted by her little brother.

""Look at yourself!" Gabriel said. "Boo hoo! Daddy was mean to me, so I'm gonna smash up all his toys!"

"Watch your tone." Lucifer warned him.

"Play the victim all you want!" Gabriel said back, pointing his angel blade at him accusingly. "But you and me? We know the truth. Dad loved you best. More than Michael, more than me. Then He brought home the new baby and you couldn't handle it. So this…" He drew a circle in the air with his blade, as if he was pointing at Lucifer's problems. "is all just one big temper tantrum. Time to grow up."

"Gabriel." Lucifer said. "If you're doing this for Michael—"

"Screw him!" Gabriel interjected. "If he was here, I'd shiv his ass too!"

"You disloyal…" Lucifer growled.

"Oh, I'm loyal." Gabriel interjected. "To people."

Lucifer looked disgusted at this. "You're willing to die, for a pile of cockroaches?!" She angrily asked.

"Dad was right." He said. "They're better than us."

"They are broken, flawed, abortions!" Lucifer shouted.

"Damn right, they're flawed!" Gabriel quickly shot back. "But a lot of them try. To be better. I've been riding the pine for a long time. But I'm back in the game now. And I'm not on your side, or Michael's. I'm on theirs."

"Don't make me do this, brother." She pleaded.

"No one makes us do anything." Gabriel told her.

"I know you think you're doing the right thing." She said "But I know where your heart truly lies." She suddenly turned around and stabbed the real Gabriel with his own blade. The first had been a decoy, so that he could sneak up behind her. He grunted in pain, as she held the blade in his chest. "Amateur hocus pocus." She scolded. "Don't forget, you learned all your tricks from me, little brother." Lucifer twisted the knife and light shot out of Gabriel's eyes, and his wings were burned into the ground around him.

[Shift]

The final relic was within their grasp. They almost had it. And yet, Yang still wasn't sure. She knew there was no way to pull Lucifer from Ruby's body. But she didn't know if she could do it. If she could really throw Lucifer back in and Ruby with her. Even if they could have Gabriel pull her out.

As they sprinted to the relic, they knew they were running out of time. It was the most heavily guarded object in all of Atlas, yet they knew it wasn't safe from Lucifer. She wouldn't want to go back into the cage. And she wouldn't allow them to get that relic. She'd probably kill her own brother to stop them.

"Look what you made me do!" A familiar voice screamed. It was Lucifer. Her voice was full of anguish and rage as she dragged Gabriel's body in. She suddenly made a twisting motion with her hand and all the guards' heads twisted, breaking their necks.

"Open the gate." Yang told Qrow. "I'll hold her off." Yang slowly walked to meet Lucifer, who was angrily and quickly striding towards her. "We need to talk." Yang said. Lucifer stopped and laughed.

"Yang." She teased. "Even for you, this is a whole new mountain of stupid."

"I'm not talking to you." Yang said. "I'm talking to Ruby." Lucifer rolled her eyes. "Rubes, can you hear me?"

"You know…" Lucifer grabbed Yang by the collar and lifted her up. "I tried to be nice. For Ruby's sake. But you are a pain in the ass!" She tossed Yang at the wall, creating a large crater and destroying the girl's aura in one hit. Yang was dazed for a moment, as Lucifer strode over to her. However, before she could grab Yang again, Blake shot the fallen angel twice in the back. Lucifer stopped, and Blake flinched, seeing that it had actually broken skin. Then, Lucifer turned around. Blake panicked and shot her again. Lucifer made a violent hand motion and Blake was thrown into the wall, rolling to the ground, unconscious.

"No!" Yang shouted. Lucifer smirked.

"Yes." She dragged Yang to her feet and hit her hard. Yang spit out blood.

"Rubes?" She asked. "Are you in there?"

"Oh, she's in here." Lucifer teased, hitting Yang again. "And she's gonna feel the snap of your bones." She hit Yang again, this time causing the blonde to fall The the ground. "Every single one." She hauled Yang to her feet. "We're gonna take our time." Lucifer hit Yang over and over and over and over again. Until the blonde's face was swollen and bleeding.

Suddenly, Yang grabbed Lucifer's jacket. "Ruby," She said. "It's okay." Lucifer hit her again, knocking her to the ground and climbing on top of her. "It's okay. I'm here." Lucifer hit Yang again. "I'm here. I'm not gonna leave you." Again. "I'm not gonna leave you." Lucifer drew her fist back for another punch, but suddenly stopped. Her fist unclenched and she got off of Yang.

"It's okay, Yang." Ruby said. She was back in control now. But not for long. "It's gonna be okay. I got him." She began to stagger towards Qrow, who—with the help of the others—had arranged the four relics in a square. Oscar mumbled some ancient language and the gate opened up. Ruby looked over at Blake's still form, and then to Yang, who just stared back at her. Ruby breathed deeply, and a voice called to her.

"Ruby!" A collective gasp filled the room as they all saw Pyrrha standing inches away from Ruby. "Step away from there! It's not gonna end this way!"

"You're gonna have to make me!" Ruby shouted back.

"I have to fight my brother, Ruby!" Pyrrha shouted back, indicating to them that it was not, in fact Pyrrha, but rather Michael. Pyrrha was the vessel Qrow was talking about. The angels had brought her back just to give Michael a free ride. "Here and now! It's my destiny!" Ruby simply closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall backwards into the gate. Michael grabbed Ruby's jacket, and Ruby grabbed her arm, pulling Michael and Pyrrha in with her. The gate closed behind them, leaving them all to sit in complete and total silence. Ruby was gone. Lucifer was gone. Michael was gone, and had taken Pyrrha with him. JNR, Sun and Weiss all stared in shock, while Qrow fell to his knees, wearing a mournful expression on his face as he cradled his head in his hands. He would never forget what Ruby had done. And, while he wanted to make sure the world knew, he knew that would never happen.

"We can bring her back, right?" Jaune asked. "We can bring them both back?" Qrow shook his head.

"Gabriel's dead, kid." He said. "No one can bring them back."

"Uh, guys." Oscar spoke up. "Oz is gone too."

Once Weiss regained her senses, she ran to her teammates. First Yang.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Yang nodded, and Weiss ran to Blake. Jaune approached Yang next, pressing his hand against her face and immediately healing her face. He did the same for Blake, who didn't really have much wrong with her, but Jaune just wanted to make sure.

"What now?" Nora loudly asked. Qrow shrugged.

"We go home." He said. "It's over. If Oz is gone, that means Salem is too. No Salem, no Grimm. No Grimm? No hunters."

"What'll happen to her?" Yang asked. Qrow shrugged again.

"I don't know for certain," He said. "But she's locked in there with Michael and Lucifer. They don't want to be in there, and they have only one person to take their frustrations out on."

[Shift]

Ruby awoke with a start. She was laying in a field, nothing around for as far as she could see. She was still wearing the same outfit Lucifer had dressed her in, but she knew she was not trapped in her own head anymore. He was gone, and she was free. But the question was; where was she? She knew she wasn't dead, she could still feel the bruises on her knuckles. Wait—her friends! Where were they?

She couldn't think about that now. She needed to figure out where she was first. So, she started walking.


End file.
